The Three Irish Girls group on Ravelry is having a KAL contest in preparation for the holidays, so most of my former blogging time has been spent trying to work my way down a list of knitting goals before November 15th. The list? Way, way overambitious on my part. Four pair of socks, part of a shawl and a baby garment in about two months. Not. Going. To. Happen. (Especially since I spent two nights knitting on a hat that isn’t even on the list.) Nor am I any sort of a contender in the Most Socks Knitted category. But. It is making me focus more on finishing things instead of starting half a dozen and letting them sit, and that’s a good thing.

The first thing off the list is the shawl. It went to live with Christine for her birthday. I bought the yarn to make her socks a long time ago, but after trying three different patterns I decided that it didn’t want to be socks, after all. It became this, instead:

The pattern is Multnomah, the yarn is Woolarina’s Silky Wool, and it worked up into a shawlette that’s just big enough to serve as caulking around the collar of a coat. I loved knitting it, but blocking the scallops was not so much fun.

The second thing off the list are Charade socks. They’re knit with Three Irish Girls Kinsale in Petit Fours and Icing, the same yarn I used for my nephews baby blanket. The yarn was just as nice the second time around.

These are just little ankle socks, meant to use up leftover yarn, and they were knit toe-up so that I could add in the contrasting heels. I used a no-wrap short row heel, which I hate moderately less than the normal wrap & turn short row heels, but I don’t think toe up socks will ever be my things.

The other interesting thing about these socks is that I knit them on Kollage’s square needles. I can’t honestly say I noticed them being easier on my hands (and I still prefer two circs), but the square shape really did seem to make the stitches more even and uniform.